


A Grimm Legacy

by HERECOMESTHERANE



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:00:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23424367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HERECOMESTHERANE/pseuds/HERECOMESTHERANE
Summary: A young Ruby Rose discovers a dark secret about her own mother, a secret that could potentially endanger those she loves and end her dreams of becoming a huntress.
Comments: 23
Kudos: 46





	1. A Meeting

Ruby walked through the forest of Patch towards a familiar cliff, though it might be more accurate to say that she _bounced_ through the forest, as Ruby Rose was very excited, despite the bittersweet visit to her mother’s grave that awaited her. Ruby had a lot of things to be excited about, such as the fact that her 13th birthday was only a week away, and that as a gift her uncle Qrow would be helping her pick out a gun to integrate into Crescent Rose.

The girl had to pause and let out a high-pitched sound of excitement.

 _Maybe it can be something high-impact so I can use it to move around like Yang does!_ She thought before continuing to bounce onwards.

However, the main source of Ruby’s excitement was not her upcoming tactical upgrades, it was the fact that this was her very first solo hunt! While Qrow, in his capacity as Ruby’s mentor, had officially okayed her to practice on the juvenile beowolves that infested the forests of Patch on her own nearly a year ago, every time the young reaper had attempted to go out for a bit of practice alone there was always one family member or another keeping an eye on her from a distance. Sure, Yang and Dad _thought_ they were being sneaky but bright yellow hair or mumbled curses from stubbed toes always gave them away. Qrow on the other hand never even bothered to sneak and would just insert himself into Ruby’s training on days when Dad and Yang weren’t available to tail her.

This time though, Ruby _knew_ that she was on her own, as Yang and Dad were out shopping (Ruby had made sure to watch them mount Dad’s bike and leave) and Qrow was on a mission, and not die back for another four days (Ruby had attempted to call his scroll and an automated message had confirmed for her that he was out of range of the CCT network). Just to make sure, Ruby quickly spun around and peered suspiciously into the foliage behind, but upon confirming that there were no lavender eyes peering out from bushes, the young reaper’s excitement took over once more, and she resumed excitedly skipping through the forest, humming tunelessly to herself.

It wasn’t that Ruby normally minded her family watching over her, she knew they did it out of love, but it could get so _stifling_ sometimes! Ruby wanted fight grimm on her own, like a huntress, like _mom_. She wanted to enjoy the thrill of charging in at full speed and letting Crescent Rose tear through a dozen evil beasties without worrying that a hidden blonde would jump out and get hurt trying to help her. Ruby wanted to cut loose and prove to herself that she really could do this alone!

Ruby hadn’t encountered any grimm yet, but she hadn’t expected to, as even the young, unintelligent grimm in these woods tended to take the time to group together into a small pack before confronting any humans that they sensed. Ruby wanted to fight the grimm in a nice open area, optimal for swinging around a weapon that was taller than herself, so she planned to have the fight in the clearing around mom’s grave, which, as a bonus, would give her some time to sit and talk to her mom while she waited for the grimm to come find her.

Ruby slowed down a bit and took a deep breath, she was close to the clearing now, and excited as she was for her first solo grimm slaying seeing her mother’s grave was always hard. She took a few more deep breaths to calm her nerves, put on a big smile for mom, and took the last few strides into the clearing.

There was someone standing next to mom’s grave.

Ruby froze.

There was a _stranger_ standing right next to the gravestone, staring _right_ _at me_ , and _grinning_ like he’d just won a million lien.

Ruby nervously examined the man for a few moments, he was probably a little older than her dad, and had dark brown hair worn in a ponytail. The man wore a long brown coat and had his hands behind his back, he cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow at Ruby questioningly. Ruby realized she had been staring.

Ruby, with no better ideas on what to do nervously smiled and waved to him. The strange man immediately began laughing uproariously and doubled over, he brought a hand up and waved back without stopping in his raucous laughter.

Ruby was taken aback. _This guy’s weird_ she thought _but if he’s out here alone he’s probably a huntsman, so he’s probably not bad!_

Ruby took a few tentative steps across the clearing, towards the strange man who was now wiping away a tear as his loud laughter winded down into intermittent giggles.

“U-um, hello?” Ruby called out to the giggling stranger. “It’s not safe out here, are you a huntsman?”

The man took another moment to get his laughter under control before standing up straight and grinning at her once again.

“Why hello to you as well, Little Rose!” he called cheerfully “To answer your question…” he paused as if to think about the question “No, I am technically not a huntsman. But worry not for my safety, Little Rose! For I am quite safe from any of the _lesser_ monsters in these woods.” He then quietly giggled again, as if he had just made some wonderful inside joke.

Ruby relaxed slightly _uncle Qrow mention some people learn to fight grimm without going to combat school, so he must be like that_ Ruby thought, before another thought made her eyes widen.

“You didn’t kill all the grimm did you?!” Ruby blurted out; the stranger’s head tilted in confusion again. Ruby flushed, realizing how strange that must sound and hung her head “I wanted to practice my moves on them…” she mumbled down to her shoes.

The man laughed loudly “Oh how bloodthirsty of you! Worry not, Little Rose, there will be plenty for you to fight.”

Ruby cheered up immediately but then froze as a new thought crossed her mind, _He keeps calling me “Little Rose”._

“D-do you know me from somewhere?” Ruby asked, nervously taking a step back and placing a hand on Crescent Rose, currently compact on her back, to calm herself.

The stranger frowned “I do not yet know you, Ruby Rose.” He said with exaggerated sadness, before his face once more lit up with a frightening grin “But I have waited _oh_ so long for this chance to meet with you.”

“Who are you?” Ruby asked, trying and failing not to sound frightened “Why do you want to meet me?”

“Ah! How rude of me!” the man exclaimed, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth in mock horror at his faux pas. “My name is Tyrian, Little Rose. And as for why I am here…”

The man, Tyrian, paused, and glanced at her mom’s grave, and for a split second his manic grin faltered before he continued “Your mother was a friend of mine.”

\-----

“Has it been too long? I think it’s been too long! I’m gonna go and- “

“She’s fine, Yang” Taiyang reassured his daughter for what felt like the hundredth time.

It was cute at first, adorable, honestly, a rare thing given that Yang had been a teenager for a year now, a fact which never stopped making Tai feel old. At first seeing his eldest daughter so concerned for her little sister had warmed Tai’s heart, but that had been over an hour ago, and she had not let up in the slightest.

“Are you sure? This is her first time hunting alone! What if- “ Yang started again, before Tai cut her off once more.

“This _isn’t_ her first time out alone, she’s been out there alone at least a dozen, and we’ve _both_ watched her so we _know_ she’ll be fine.” Taiyang crossed his arms and stared down at his daughter, daring her to refute it.

Yang stared back defiantly “You know she always noticed us following her right? She just pretended not she didn’t to be nice.” She said, punctuating her statement by poking his arm repeatedly.

Tai playfully slapped her finger away “Pfft. Maybe she noticed _you_ bulldozing through the forest, but I’ll have you know your old man, the _professional huntsman_ , is way too stealthy to get caught by a twelve-year-old.” He said cockily, it was a lie of course, and the both knew it, years of experience or not, Ruby always noticed him, which was just another reason that he was confident that Ruby would be fine. But Yang didn’t need reassurance, he’d already tried that, she needed distraction, and for a while that worked, father and daughter bantered back and forth for a few minutes. However, in the middle of laughing at one of her dad’s _wonderfully_ awful puns, Yang glanced at the clock on the wall and her face became worried once again.

“Look, she’s been out there almost three hours already! I’ll just go out and find her real quick! We’ll be back in time for dinner!” Yang said hurriedly as she began to get up from the couch and reached towards her gauntlets on a nearby table.

With a beleaguered sigh, Tai caught her by the wrist and dragged her back to sitting next to him “Yang” he began patiently “I know you’re worried about your sister, but you have to trust her, there’s nothing in those woods strong enough to hurt her, and there’s _definitely_ nothing fast enough to catch her.”

Yang frowned down at her hands in her lap but said nothing.

Tai smiled at her “She’s coming back, okay?” he said gently.

Yang slowly let out a long breath, she was obviously no less worried, but she was calmer.

And then they heard the door open and shut.

“RUBY!” Yang yelled gleefully and shot from the couch with such force it nearly fell over. Yang sped out of Tai’s sight into the next room. He smiled fondly as he heard a loud slam followed by the familiar sounds of Ruby trying to escape one of Yang’s bone crushing hugs, everything was just fine again.

Then Tai heard a frightened gasp from Yang and frowned, that he hadn’t expected. “Ruby you’re hurt!” Yang exclaimed as Tai quickly got up and strode towards the front room.

“I’m fine Yang, don’t worry!” Ruby replied as Tai turned the corner and knelt next to his youngest daughter to examine her.

“What happened, Ruby?” He asked worriedly. Her injuries were nothing serious, a dozen or so shallow cuts that were already nearly healed, but the fact that she had bled at all meant that her aura must have been severely depleted.

“There were just… more beowolves than usual! Nothing bad!” She smiled nervously. Tai and Yang frowned at her in disbelief, Ruby’s fighting style was practically tailor-made for cutting down hordes of weak grimm, twelve years old or not, Tai doubted there were enough beowolves on patch to trip her up.

Yang scoffed “We all know that a beowolf do this, try again, sis.”

Ruby shrugged and looked at the floor, saying nothing. Tai’s eyes narrowed.

“Ruby Rose, what aren’t you telling me?” he said sternly, Ruby’s eyes widened as she looked up at her dad.

“W-What? Not telling- pfft Haha that’s crazy why would I keep secrets I don’t even… “ Ruby continued to bluster as Yang winced and Tai rolled his eyes, Ruby was a terrible liar. Tai put one hand on Ruby’s shoulder and looked at her sternly, she fell silent instantly.

“I know exactly what happened Ruby” Tai said.

“Y-You do?” Ruby replied, silver eyes wide as saucers. Taiyang smirked _There’s only one way you could get injured in the woods and not want to tell me, Ruby_ he thought.

“I told you when Qrow said you could hunt alone that you had to follow _one_ rule, Ruby”

“H-huh?” Ruby ineloquently replied.

“Tell me what that rule was, Ruby.” He said, crossing his arms.

“R-rule?” Ruby stuttered. Taiyang sighed, _did she really forget?_ He thought to himself

“The rule you agreed to was that if you get noticed by any grimm that _isn’t_ a juvenile beowolf you _immediately_ use your semblance to run home.” Tai finished. He tried to sternly stare down his daughter as her mouth opened and closed, but he was no good at tough love _especially when she looks so much like-_ Tai quickly cut off that train of thought _Nope! Not thinkin’ about that right now._

Tai sighed and stood up “Well hopefully you’ll remember those cuts next time you see something you’re not ready to fight. Anyway, it’s late, I’m going to start dinner, you should probably change so you don’t track anything into the house.” He said as he turned away from his silver-eyed daughter and strode towards the kitchen.

Behind him Tai heard Yang speak up “Ouch, totally busted, sis.” She chuckled.

“But, but I didn’t even- “ Ruby mumbled before Yang excitedly continued talking.

“So, what did you tangle with anyway?! Was it an Ursa? An Alpha Beowolf? An _Alpha Ursa_? C’mon, spill, sis!”

Ruby huffed angrily “It was a mini-deathstalker with gun-claws and a mean sense of humor”

“Aw c’mon don’t make stuff up!”


	2. Seeing is Believing

All throughout dinner Ruby was distracted, she tried to concentrate on the food and her dad and sister’s corny jokes, she really did, but a few minutes into the meal she found herself tuning out of the conversation to think about her meeting with that really weird guy from the woods, Tyrian, and all of the confusing things he had said to her. Suddenly Ruby was pulled from her thoughts by the feeling of a finger insistently poking at her cheek and noticed Yang and her dad looking at her expectantly. She realized that someone had asked a question and that she had completely missed it.

“Uhhh… Yes! I totally agree with that thing you just said!” Ruby said, attempting and _completely_ failing to sound confident. Yang’s expression changed to one of concern.

“Seriously Rubes, you’re real out of it, what happened on your hunt?” Yang queried. Ruby’s eyes widened but she managed to keep her mouth shut, as she _knew_ she was an awful liar but she _couldn’t_ let her family know about what had really happened in the woods.

“Yang, don’t pester your sister.” Tai interjected “She obviously doesn’t want to want to talk about it.”

Ruby sighed with relief _Thanks, Dad_ she thought gratefully. Yang huffed but backed off, a moment later however, Ruby noticed a familiar glint in her sister’s eye. Ruby recoiled, she knew what that face meant: Yang had just come up with a pun.

“Hey, I was just trying to offer her some a-sister-ance!” Yang said with a self-satisfied grin. Ruby groaned.

“Wow, was that joke made of paper?” Tai replied, Ruby sunk into her seat in a futile attempt to hide from the inevitable punchline “Because it was tear-able!” he finished with a grin identical to Yang’s. Ruby sighed and resumed eating as she did her best to ignore her dad and Yang as their jokes got progressively more and more awful. The rest of dinner and the subsequent washing up passed by quickly, and Ruby made to go upstairs and to her bedroom.

“Ruby, wanna watch a movie?” her dad offered

“Ah, no thanks, too tired.” Ruby replied, smiling at her dad before yawning for emphasis.

“Oh, well goodnight then.”

“’Night, Dad. ‘Night Yang” Ruby said before rushing to her room and closing the door behind her.

While she really was tired, Ruby did not plan to sleep just yet, she needed to think. Ruby sat down at her desk and arranged Crescent Rose before beginning to work. Weapon maintenance was a calming and easy task for Ruby, which she always used as way to keep her hands busy while she thought through difficult things.

This time, Ruby thought back to her meeting with Tyrian, and all that she had learned from the strange encounter.

\--a few hours earlier—

“My name is Tyrian, Little Rose. And as for why I am here…” Tyrian paused, and glanced at her mom’s grave, and for a split second his manic grin faltered before he continued “Your mother was a friend of mine.”

Ruby’s eyes widened “Really?” she asked hopefully, her earlier fear completely forgotten. _A friend of Mom’s…_ she thought wistfully, Ruby loved her mom and missed her more than anything, but what she missed was just a memory, and one that faded a little bit more with every year that passed. Ruby wanted _badly_ to know more about her mom, Yang helped where she could, telling ruby stories about Mom whenever she asked, but Yang only two years older, so there were very few things that Yang knew that Ruby didn’t. Dad and uncle Qrow, the people who could _really_ tell her more about the absent mother that she idolized, would occasionally start some story or another featuring her mom, but would quickly become too sad to continue, and Ruby didn’t have the heart to push them for more.

“Can you tell me about her?” She begged, desperately staring up in Tyrian’s wild yellow eyes. Tyrian laughed again, it seemed to be his default response to everything, though this time it sounded a little forced.

“I intend to tell you quite a lot, Little Rose.” He said “But-!” he cut Ruby off before her excitement could get out of hand “There are few important things we must address first.” Ruby nodded furiously.

“First” he began, holding up one finger dramatically “is secrecy. Absolutely no-one can know about me or anything I tell you, _especially_ not your mother’s _teammates_ , Mr. Branwen and Mr. Xiao-Long.” He said, spitting out the word “ _teammates_ ” as if it had stabbed him in the tongue.

_Huh, maybe Tyrian had a fight with Dad and Qrow or something once?_ thought Ruby, nodding despite her doubts.

“Good!” he said, clapping his hands together “That is the most important thing, the rest we can deal with as it comes.” He paused for a moment “Also, Mr. Xiao-Long’s daughter, the fiery one who sometimes follows you out here? She mustn’t know either of course” Tyrian chuckled lightly and held a finger up to his lips conspiratorially.

Ruby was halfway through nodding her agreement when a thought struck her, and froze for a moment before hesitantly speaking up “How did you know she follows me on my training?”

Tyrian was momentarily lost in another giggling fit before he answered “Oh come now, Little Rose. I am quite sure that I already mentioned how long I have been waiting to be alone with you.”

Ruby’s excitement waned somewhat as she remembered that she was in fact alone in the woods with a strange man “Why did you want to meet me alone so badly?” she asked cautiously.

Tyrian grinned and clapped his hands happily “Ah now _that_ , Little Rose, is the truly important question!” he looked into Ruby’s eyes intently “You see, there a are few things that your mother had meant to tell you when you were older, things about herself, things about _you_ , and things about the whole world!” he gestured grandly at the clearing around them, before an uncharacteristically somber look took over his face.

“However…” he continued slowly “once she realized that she was not going to live long enough to tell you, she asked me to tell you on her behalf.” He paused to turn away from Ruby and gaze at her mom’s grave “It was her last request; how could I refuse her?”

Ruby’s train of thought ground instantly to a halt _he said she…realized?_ She thought _does that mean that Tyrian knows what happened to her?_ Ruby’s mind was reeling, she had hoped that Tyrian might be able to give her some details on her mother’s life that dad and Qrow were too sad to, but this was different, _no one_ knew how summer had died, only that she had gone on some mission and never returned, to this day her dad would occasionally lock himself in his room and begin making scroll-calls, asking questions about her mom’s last mission in a low voice that he thought Ruby wouldn’t be able overhear.

“Do you… know what happened to her?” Ruby asked quietly. Tyrian turned back to her, looking momentarily confused before a small smile returned to his face.

“Ah, of course you wouldn’t know, I suppose that is just one more thing I will have to tell you.” Tyrian let out a small giggle as Ruby nodded furiously, hanging on his every word. “But first _you_ must tell _me_ something” Tyrian’s smile widened as he stared intently into Ruby’s wide eyes “Do you wish to become a huntress, Little Rose?” he asked, leaning in close with interest glimmering in his eyes.

Ruby was momentarily taken aback by the change in subject but spoke up after a moment’s pause “Yeah” she answered simply.

“Why?” asked Tyrian, voice barely above a whisper as his eyes narrowed and his grin grew dangerously.

“I. Well. Um…” Ruby began falteringly, unsettled by Tyrian’s attention she took a few moments to compose her thoughts before continuing “I want to help people.” Confidence growing as she spoke, Ruby met and held Tyrian’s curious gaze “I want to save people and fight monsters and be a hero, just like Mom.” She finished with a nod.

Tyrian stared for few more seconds before breaking her gaze with a snort, the snort then quickly developed into full-blown manic laughter as Tyrian looked away from her and brought up one hand to cover his face. Tyrian laughed loudly and uncontrollably, doubled over and slapping his thigh with one hand. After nearly a minute of nonstop mirth, he finally managed to calm himself enough to turn back to Ruby with a grin and speak “Ahh of _course_ you want to be a _hero_ ” he said with mixture of what sounded like joy and… spite? “just like Summer indeed!” he chuckled once more before taking a step back and fixing Ruby with an amused gaze.

“I’m afraid we’ve gone a bit off topic.” he began “There are quite a few bits of knowledge I must impart to you, and I believe I’ve wasted enough time already”

_Yes! Finally!_ Thought Ruby, nodding vigorously.

“But… there is a bit of a problem” said Tyrian in an exaggeratedly apologetic tone of voice. Ruby sagged.

“What’s the problem?” Ruby asked dejectedly, wondering if Tyrian would _ever_ get to the point.

“You see” he began “even if I told you all you need to know; you simply wouldn’t _believe_ me”

“I would believe you! I promise!” Ruby interrupted. Tyrian wagged one finger at her and tutted admonishingly.

“No, Little Rose, you would not. But worry not!” he said excitedly as a huge grin spread across his face “I will simply _show_ you.” He finished, as suddenly, with a quick motion and a _click_ , a pair of claw-like blades had emerged around each of Tyrian’s hands from his sleeves.

Ruby looked down at the weapons in confusion, taking a moment to admire them and noting a small plate on each that probably concealed a gun or another blade, before realizing what the drawn weapons most likely meant. She looked up to meet Tyrian’s gaze “You wanted to show me your weapons?” she asked nervously.

Tyrian’s grin widened dangerously. “No” he answered, and then a blade was careening towards her face. Ruby barely managed bring up her weapon, still in its compact form, in time to deflect the blade, and then she exploded into rose petals and rocketed away from the madman and towards the tree line.

_I gotta get outta here!_ She thought in a panic, pushing her semblance to the limit as she neared the edge of the clearing. A quick series of loud _cracks_ rang out as bullets painfully impacted Ruby’s aura, throwing her painfully out of her semblance and into a tree.

_Yep, it was a gun._ She thought in a daze as she struggled to her feet. Looking up she saw Tyrian careening towards her at a frankly _terrifying_ speed, laughing madly with an expression on his face that could only be described as _elated_. Ruby hurriedly deployed her scythe and swung it in a wide arc, hoping desperately to ward off her attacker. Tyrian ducked under her attack, reached up, caught the snath of her scythe between two blades, and with a twist of his arm Tyrian bent back _ripping_ Crescent Rose out of her hands and sending it spinning away.

Ruby only had moment to look in horror at her beloved weapon falling to the ground before Tyrian turned his disarming move into a backflip and brought up a boot to collide _violently_ with Ruby’s chin. Ruby cried out, reeling with pain, and tried to activate her semblance, desperately wanting to get as far from Tyrian as possible.

Ruby shed a few rose petals and began to accelerate away from Tyrian, before something grabbed her ankle, she looked down. Tyrian was still mid-backflip, faced away from her, but extending from underneath his coat and wrapping around her ankle was a _freaking scorpion tail_. Ruby screamed as she was dragged back and slammed into the ground.

No sooner had Ruby collided with the ground than Tyrian landed on top of her, pinning her in place with his legs, for a moment Ruby saw his face. Tyrian’s eyes were wild, and his tongue lolled out the side of his cruel smile, he _screamed_ with laughter and brought both his weapons down to slash at the disarmed girl, Ruby instinctively brought up her arms to protect her face.

_Its okay!_ She thought in a rush _My aura’s mostly full! It’ll keep me safe long enough to wiggle out and-_

Ruby saw a flash of purple light. Tyrian’s blades sliced through cloth and skin; her aura ignored.

Ruby tried to bring up her arms to block the next strikes, but the madman simply brushed aside the child’s attempt and continued to rain small, stinging cuts into her flesh interspersed with purple flashes of light that seemed to drive away her aura as he continued to scream with laughter.

_He’s going to kill me._ Ruby realized in terror, a cut across her collarbone.

_I’m unarmed, he’s more skilled than than me, and he has a semblance that ignores aura._ A cut into her forearm. Ruby could feel her blood begin to trickle.

_I didn’t do anything to him, and he wants to kill me._ A cut on her shoulder. Tyrian was still laughing.

_This isn’t fair._ A cut down her chest. Ruby’s vision began to blur with tears.

_This isn’t fair!_ A cut on her chin. Ruby beat desperately at his chest.

_This isn’t **fair!**_ A cut on her palm. Ruby’s vision went red, she screamed in pain, desperation, and rage.

**_I don’t want to die!_ **Ruby punched towards Tyrian with all the strength she could muster, and her fist swung through empty air.

Tyrian wasn’t slashing at her anymore, his weight was no longer pinning her down, and his screaming laughter had calmed to a pleased chuckle.

Ruby looked up, her vision still red and blurred by tears she could barely make out that Tyrian was standing a few feet away, grinning at her.

He clapped his hands excitedly “See! I _told_ you I would show you! I _told_ you!” he made a high pitched _ooooh!_ of excitement.

“W-what?” breathed out Ruby, still shaking and terrified.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I _told_ you so I _showed_ you!” Tyrian babbled excitedly and motioned at Ruby “ _Look!_ ”

Ruby looked down at herself, it was still hard to see through the tears and the red- Wait, why was there red? And it wasn’t just in her eyes, it spilled from her eyes, a faint red glow illuminated her bleeding torso and her arms.

Her arms…

Her arms were pitch black, except for the curved talons that extended from her fingertips, and the spikes that jutted out erratically from her forearms up to her shoulders. This was a _grimm’s_ arm. Ruby flexed her hand. But it was _her_ arm. Ruby took a shaky breath through unfamiliar, needle-like teeth.

“I’m a grimm.” Ruby whispered.

Tyrian looked at her with a smile that did not reach his sad eyes “You look just like your mother”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the big reveal! 
> 
> Dunno when the next chapter will be done but it probably won't be too long as I'm having a lot of fun writing this.


	3. A Learning Experience

Ruby’s shock turned quickly to panic, and she shot to her feet, shaking with adrenaline. She glanced around frantically, looking for anything that made sense. _There!_ She thought frantically, noticing Crescent Rose on the ground _My weapon, my_ huntress _weapon._ Ruby dashed for her scythe, she stumbled at first, as her semblance failed to kick in, but quickly righted herself and covered the rest of the distance, her body feeling unnaturally light.

She fumbled and dropped the weapon on her first attempt, the unfamiliar bone-white talons jutting from her pitch-black fingertips getting in her way, but quickly managed to secure her grip on Crescent Rose on her second attempt. Ruby spun around to face Tyrian, she wasn’t sure what she was planning to do, only that fighting would be better than thinking.

Tyrian, however, seemed to have no interest in fighting, as his weapons were already retracted, and he watched Ruby with a quirked eyebrow and an amused chuckle. Ruby was furious, all of this was happening because of him, it had to be. She opened her mouth to speak, but she could find no words to express herself, so she settled with loudly _snarling_ at the laughing faunus.

If Ruby had been a master of reading others, she might have noticed the subtle hints of concern flit across Tyrian’s expression and body language at that moment, however, Ruby did not notice any of those signs. Instead, Ruby simply _knew_ his moment of worry as surely as she knew the sky was blue, and it _pulled_ at her, causing her to take a dazed step forwards as she was swept up in the alien sensation. However, the moment quickly passed as Tyrian regained his inner composure and tilted his head to the side.

“Little Rose,” he began “While I truly appreciate your enthusiasm, the time for fighting is over.”

Ruby shook her head briefly, still confused from the brief yet overwhelming sense of hunger, she reached up to rub at her forehead, but failed to do so as her talons simply _clicked_ against something hard covering her forehead. Ruby suddenly remembered what was going on and drew in a sharp breath.

“Oh fine, take your time then.” Tyrian huffed as he crossed his arms and sat down, his tail spearing into the dirt to act as a stool.

Ruby ignored him, she was still shocked, but with the adrenaline of her and Tyrian’s fight quickly fading, she was no longer panicking, however, she was also beginning to feel the sting of the cuts Tyrian had left her. She looked down at the torn places in her clothing, the first thing she noticed was the fact that there was no blood on her pitch-black skin, instead, wisps of black smoke trickled out and quickly dispersed in the breeze. Ruby tried to bring forth her aura to begin healing but nothing happened, she frowned and focused, she could still feel her aura, it was nearly full in fact, but it simply wouldn’t come forth.

Ruby realized she was holding her breath and let it out. _Okay_ she thought determinedly _I know about grimm, so I can tell what my body is, never mind that this is impossible._ She took a deep breath then looked up at the man staring at her with an exaggeratedly bored expression. “How do I fix this?” she asked slowly.

Tyrian’s hand flew to his face in mock offence, but Ruby could sense the spark of actual anger beneath it, though this time she managed to steel herself and ignore the its insistent pull. “Why there is nothing to fix, Little Rose!” he stated, “This is simply what you have always been, I have merely showed it to you.”

Ruby felt a low growl of frustration begin to rumble in her throat, but quickly smothered it _No,_ she thought resolutely _I can talk, I won’t growl like some monster._ “What do you _mean_?” She asked insistently “What exactly have I ‘always been’?”

“Well…” Tyrian began slowly “I don’t know _exactly,_ but I have a basic idea.”

Ruby clenched her teeth and glared expectantly, her teeth felt all wrong, unnaturally long and sharp, but she tried not to think about that.

“You see,” Tyrian explained “your mother was a grimm, one granted aura and the ability to appear human, yes, but still a grimm spawned like any other.”

For a moment Ruby was shocked, she had all but forgotten that this had all begun with talking about her mother.

“But _you_ , on the other hand” he continued, leaning forward “You are something new. A child born of the union of man and grimm?” Tyrian giggled slightly “Utterly impossible, yet here you are before me! So obviously grimm, yet more human than your mother ever was.”

“What do you mean?” asked Ruby, bristling slightly “Mom was totally human!”

Tyrian giggled in response “Oh but she had to _learn_ it, and that process was slow, and oh _so_ painful” Tyrian grinned and gestured grandly to a pair of large scars on his chest, shaped like an X. “She had to return to her true state every few days, or else she’d become… _irritable._ ” He said with a slight grimace.

“And yet, you have lived, what would it be? Thirteen years?” Ruby nodded, close enough “ _Thirteen years_ without even _knowing_ what you are.” Tyrian finished, before his eyes narrowed slightly and he spoke up again “And even now, something else occurs to me.” He smiled widely “Those rose petals before, that was your semblance, correct?”

“Yeah” Replied Ruby, confused “What about it?”

“Summer did not have a semblance” he answered “She was given aura and a human face, yes, but a semblance was _not_ among the divine gifts she received.”

“Divine gifts?” queried Ruby, puzzled. Tyrian’s face lit up.

“Oh!” he exclaimed joyfully “I suppose that is one of the things I ought to tell you about.” Tyrian clapped excitedly and giggled “It is not every day I get to share the good news of our goddess.”

\-----

Ruby had sat on the ground at some point during Tyrian’s speech, and although she was a bit harder to read with her pure red eyes glowing from behind the mask of bone that covered the top half of her face, Tyrian imagined that Ruby’s expression was one of _awe_ at the truths revealed to her.

 _Ah, to know Her glory for the first time_ Tyrian thought wistfully _How I wish I could be in your place, Little Rose._

Ruby thought for few more minutes before replying. “So, this… Salem” She began, speaking slowly, her black face splitting to reveal her crimson maw, filled with deadly fangs “has ruled the grimm forever?”

“Yes” Tyrian answered happily

“And she used her… ‘Divine Powers’” Ruby shivered, no doubt with the joy of knowing Her   
“to make Mom look human?”

“Yes” He replied, “And I was assigned by Her Grace to help Summer learn how to act the part, that’s how we became such good friends.”

Ruby frowned “So you’re not a grimm like her?”

“No” Tyrian replied sadly, before quickly schooling his emotions as he noticed Ruby’s gaze begin to become hungry. “I am but a mortal faunus.”

“Then why do you work for her?”

Tyrian grinned “It’s not work when you love what you do” he giggled before continuing “To strive for Her favor is my reason for being, I learned and accepted that fact when I was much younger than you are now, Little Rose.”

Ruby appeared lost in thought for a few moments before glancing down at her clawed hands “None of this matters right now, I just want to turn back to normal.” She said, voice shaking slightly.

Tyrian shrugged “Your mother always just let off some steam and relaxed for bit before changing back, perhaps you should do something similar.”

Ruby nodded slowly “Okay, like what?”

“Hmmm let me think” Tyrian paused for moment and retrieved his scroll from a pocket in his jacket to check the time, nearly sunset. “No idea!” he replied cheerily, standing up “You’ll need to take some time to figure it out, which is convenient, because I have other things to do!” he grinned, waved at the little grimm looking up at him in surprise, and turned to walk away.

“But- Wait!” she cried out as she scrambled to her feet “Didn’t you need to tell me all about Mom and stuff?!”

“Ah, but I am ever so busy today, Little Rose!” he shouted over his shoulder as he strode into the woods “But worry not! I shall find another time to talk with you!”

He grinned to himself and stretched for a moment before taking off into the forest in haste, leaving the young grimm girl to solve her own problems.

 _Ah, what an interesting girl she is, I wonder what she will do?_ he thought wistfully as he sped between the trees.

His smile kept up for a while before another thought came to him and brought a guilty frown to his face. _Her Grace has said that She is not interested in the girl_ he reassured himself _So it’s fine that I’m not telling Her, She wouldn’t want to be bothered with such trivialities, surely._

He continued his sprint through the forest _I’ll just finish my assignment early and she’ll be pleased with me, shouldn’t be too hard_ he grinned sadistically as his thoughts returned to the work he so loved.

\-----

Ruby made to go after the fleeing faunus but, again, her semblance failed to activate, and she quickly lost sight of him. _Right_ she thought with an angry huff _grimm don’t have semblances._ Ruby leaned back against a nearby tree and brought her clawed hand up to examine it _this is a lot to take in_ she thought _Mom was a grimm, I’m like… half a grimm, the grimm have a ‘goddess’ called Salem controlling them, Salem made my mom look human for some reason._ Ruby sighed exhaustedly

 _And on top of all that, I can’t go back home until I turn back to normal, I have no idea how to do that, and Tyrian’s advice was ‘figure it out’!_ Ruby crossed her arms and pouted, sliding down the tree until she sat on the forest floor.

Ruby sat like that for a few minutes, staring angrily at the glossy black skin of her arm. Then, her anger partially gave way to curiosity, she rubbed at her skin with one finger, it was somewhat smoother than before, but felt otherwise normal, if a little vulnerable without her aura to protect it. Next, she examined the claws on her right hand, they were each about an inch long and curved downwards slightly, it was pure white and looked very sharp.

Curiosity growing, she turned and scratched a line into the tree behind her. _Yup, sharp_ she thought _almost as sharp as Crescent Rose._ Ruby considered the gouge in the tree for a moment before another idea came to her. She retrieved her scroll from a pocket and opened it, using her scroll was frustrating thanks to her claws, but after a few minutes she managed to navigate to the camera and turned it to face herself, smiling out of habit before she snapped a picture.

Ruby, despite mentally preparing herself to see a face not her own, still nearly dropped her scroll at the image on her scroll. She had expected the glowing red eyes and needle-like teeth, though her smile _did_ admittedly make those look terrifying, no, what truly surprised her was the white mask which covered the top half of her face. The mask covered everything from her forehead to her nose and much of her cheeks, there were two large, round holes for her eyes and a pair of slits for her nose and from the forehead jutted two small horns, each around two inches long and curving upwards. The mask was adorned by a few red streaks, looking like vertical scratches down the mask in seemingly random positioned. As Ruby idly felt along the edges of the mask with one hand, she noted that in the picture she took she appeared to have no hair _I hope that comes back when I go back to normal_ she thought _I don’t think dad would believe that I decided to shave my head in the middle of a hunt_.

Ruby was still staring in horrified fascination at her scroll when she heard a rustling of leaves to her side, her head snapped to the side to search for the source of the noise. There, not ten feet away from her, and staring at her with burning eyes, was a beowulf, she dropped her scroll. _Stay calm_ Ruby thought to herself, slowly rising to her feet _its just a beowulf, I’ve killed tons of these, it won’t attack immediately if I just stay calm and move slowly._

The beowulf cocked its head to the side for a, considered Ruby for a moment, then turned around and walked away. Ruby was confused for a moment and then slapped her palm on the forehead of her mask _oh right, grimm, obviously_ she bent over to pick up her fallen scroll _I should probably kill it anyway, it might hurt someone eventually if I don’t._

As she carefully picked up her scroll and made to put it in her pocket as her claws once again caught her eye. _I wonder…_ she eyed the beowulf, which was now sniffing at the ground nearby. She walked cautiously towards it, it glanced at her for a moment before deciding to ignore her and continue sniffing at the ground. _That’s where Tyrian had me pinned down,_ she realized as she continued her approach _it must have been drawn by our fight, there are probably more nearby._

As she reached the monster it switched from sniffing at the ground to curiously sniffing at her shoe, probably smelling human. _Its weak points are the abdomen and the neck_ she recalled from her lessons at Signal _these claws aren’t long enough for the abdomen, so neck it is._ She reached out with a shaking hand; legs tensed to jump away at a moment’s notice.

In position, she flexed her clawed hand, took a deep breath, and in a single motion ripped her entire hand through the beowulf’s jugular and leapt back to avoid its death throes. She needn’t have bothered, it simply collapsed, twitched once, and promptly began to evaporate. Ruby looked down at her hand, the last bits of beowulf gore rapidly decaying and blowing away with the breeze.

 _That was easy_ she thought with wonder and just a tinge of excitement _That was so easy! It didn’t even fight back! And I was gonna just slash its neck, but I just naturally did that instead, and it worked so well!_ Her eyes scanned excitedly around _I could kill hundreds of grimm like this, I could save so many people, so easily!_ She locked onto another bit of black moving through the forest _There! Another one!_ She began stalking forwards, wearing a fang-filled grin that would make even Tyrian recoil.

\-----

One hour, fifteen beowolves, four ursa, and a nevermore later, Ruby was exhausted and calm, and appeared completely human. She watched as the last few bits of the ursa’s corpse faded away, then she turned towards home, smiled, and blasted forward, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby's grimm mask is *loosely* based on the nuckelavee's, if you were curious.
> 
> By the way, I don't really know how tagging and all that jazz works on this website, if I'm doing anything horribly wrong lemme know, yeah?
> 
> EDIT: Fixed a couple grammar mistakes that I missed, nothing major.


	4. Remembering

Ruby stirred as the sunlight from the nearby window that had been steadily creeping up her back began to make her uncomfortably warm. Ruby groaned tiredly and moved a hand to brush away the object that was digging into her arm, a moment later she heard the sound of something metal clatter to the floor. Squinting in confusion she tiredly lifted her head up from the improvised pillow that was her arms and looked around.

 _Oh, guess I fell asleep weapon maintenance_ she realized, looking around the cluttered workstation she had apparently slept at. Crescent Rose’s disassembled pieces lay jumbled in a heap in front of her, with her scroll laying on top of it, however, this didn’t worry Ruby as she knew the workings of her weapon well enough that she could reassemble it from this state with ease. She glanced down towards where she had heard the clatter before, noting that it was one of the compact motors that allowed Crescent Rose to transform lying on the ground. She reached for it with one hand while attempting to rub the dregs of sleep from her eyes with the other.

 _Jeez, it’s been awhile since I fell asleep like this_ she thought as she picked up the motor _I remember I was thinking really hard about something_ she was staring at the motor in her hand, sleepily trying to piece together the previous day’s events, when a smear of black grease on her hand from last night’s repairs suddenly jogged her memory. _Oh right, I was thinking about how my whole world got turned upside-down._

She had met a strange man claiming to be her mom’s friend, he’d tried to kill her, then she turned into a grimm. She could barely believe that part, but she could remember it all perfectly: her aura and semblance failing to work, the claws she had known instinctively how to use, the grimm that had completely ignored her, the way she had _hungered_ every time Tyrian felt a bit of negativity during their talk.

Ruby shivered at the memory of that pull she had felt, it had been unbearably intense, like she had been blind her whole life, but then suddenly learned to see just in time to have a firework go off in front of her. Ruby frowned at the comparison, that wasn’t quite right: it had certainly felt weird, but it wasn’t exactly like discovering a new sense, it was somehow still a little bit familiar. Ruby puzzled over that for a moment before her eyes slid to the pile weapon parts in front of her, her scroll sitting atop it.

Ruby picked up her scroll, unlocked it, and quickly navigated to the picture she had taken yesterday. _Yup, definitely real_ she said as she stared at the frankly terrifying picture of herself. She checked the time and groaned; it was much earlier than she wanted to be awake on a weekend. Ruby locked her scroll again and set it aside before beginning the process of reassembling her beloved weapon.

Ruby was finally mostly awake, and with her hands busy, she could think much more clearly. _Yesterday wasn’t all bad, I mean I killed a bunch of grimm really easily, if I can figure out how to change on my own, I would probably be the best grimm hunter on Remnant._ Ruby smiled at that thought _And I met Tyrian! Sure, he’s weird, and he also sorta pretended to try and kill me. But he knew Mom! And he’s gonna tell me secrets about her and about his ‘Goddess’._ Ruby’s smile turned into a grimace _oh yeah, **that** _she thought with a huff as she carefully fitted a servo into place.

Ruby was far from not at peace with the fact that she was part-grimm, she still had a lot of questions, and she was worried about what might happen if anyone found out, but overall, Ruby knew she was still _herself_ , so being part-grimm didn’t bother her nearly as much as yesterday’s _other_ big reveal.

 _Mom was a grimm,_ _but then that ‘Salem’ made her look human, and made Tyrian teach her to act human._ Ruby thought unhappily _Salem is the goddess of the grimm, the worst monsters on Remnant, there’s no way she made Mom look human for something good._ Ruby’s frown deepened as she bolted one of Crescent Rose’s blades into place. _Did Mom look human so she could hurt people? Sabotage them to help the grimm? And if so, why would she become a huntress and **fight**_ _grimm? Why would she get married? Why would she have **me**? Why doesn’t any of this make **sense?**_

Ruby put down her wrench with a huff, she wasn’t finished, but she knew if she tried to do weapon maintenance while upset, she’d just mess up. Besides, she was still covered in grease from her weapon and wearing the same clothes she’d gone to bed in. Ruby stood up and stretched, trying to work out the soreness from sleeping at her workstation. She decided she would go wash up, and then see about breakfast, thoughts about her mom could wait.

\-----

As Taiyang rooted around the fridge, contemplating what to make for breakfast, he listened idly to his daughters’ conversation in the next room.

“Just think about it Ruby!” said Yang excitedly “I could ride all over Patch, and it’d be small enough to take on the ferry so I could ride it in Vale too!”

“I’m not saying it wouldn’t be cool!” replied Ruby exasperatedly “But building a motorcycle yourself? You’re not a mechanic Yang!”

“Pfft. I built Ember Celica, it can’t be that much different.” Retorted Yang dismissively

“Wha- Unless your motorcycle is gonna have guns for wheels and move itself with the recoil, it’s totally different!” Ruby’s voice paused for moment, before she spoke again, thoughtfully “Wait… Could you actually do that? Cause that sounds cool…” Ruby trailed off.

Yang snorted “Of course you’d think up a gun-powered motorcycle, you dork”

Taiyang chuckled to himself as he heard the familiar sounds of Ruby struggling to one of Yang’s affectionate/bone-crushing hugs. Taiyang looked down to find that he had started making sandwiches by muscle memory while distracted by his daughter’s banter.

“Girls! Breakfast’s almost ready, come set the table” he called out.

“Yes! Food!” Yelled Ruby as she appeared in the kitchen in burst of rose petals, the resulting shockwave from her semblance nearly knocking the loaf of bread off the counter before Taiyang caught it. Tai frowned at her and Ruby laughed nervously.

“C’mon Ruby” he admonished “No semblances in the house.”

“Sorry, I forgot.” She smiled sheepishly, before turning to begin setting the table. Tai rolled his eyes, she ‘forgot’ that rule constantly and as a result he and Yang had gotten into the habit of not leaving anything breakable where a burst of wind from the speeding pre-teen could knock it over. _At least Yang’s gotten better at following that rule_ Tai thought, shivering at the memories of a younger Yang’s fiery outbursts.

Tai finished the last of the sandwiches and took them to the table, where Yang and Ruby had just finished fixing some drinks. He set them down, took a seat and turned to Yang. “So, what’s this about a motorcycle?” He asked as he picked up a sandwich and started to eat. Yang’s eyes lit up as she began to animatedly describe her plans to build a motorcycle, occasionally stopping to take a hurried bite from her sandwich before carrying on through a mouthful of food. Tai listened to his daughter amusedly, he doubted she’d actually stick with this plan of hers, but he was enjoying her excitement anyways.

After Yang finished detailing all of the people she would show off ‘awesome ride’ to, Taiyang glanced at his younger daughter, and noticed that Ruby had stopped eating and started staring at nothing with that same faraway, somewhat sad look she had been wearing for most of last night after returning from her hunt. _That can’t be good_ Tai thought worriedly.

“So…” Tai began casually “What’s on your mind, Ruby?”

“Oh! Um…” Ruby started, startled out of her thoughts “Just… Wondering about stuff.”

“What kinda stuff?” He asked idly, taking another bite of his sandwich.

“Well…” Ruby stopped to think, looking doubtful for a moment before seemingly coming to a decision “I was wondering about Mom, actually.”

Tai froze momentarily, then slowly took another bite of food to buy himself time to regain his composure. Yang’s response was less calm, her head immediately whipped about to stare at her little sister, eyes wide in a mixture of worry and panic. Tai winced internally; Yang always acted like she was worried Ruby might burst in to tears at any moment whenever their mother came up in conversation. _Probably because of those months she had to spend comforting Ruby while I was too busy feeling sorry for myself_ Tai thought guiltily _I really should have done better for them._

Tai sighed slightly but kept a calm face “Well, what did you want to know?” He asked “I’ll answer if I can.” Ruby and Yang looked at him with shock, which made him feel even worse _Wow, I know I don’t like talking about Summer but you don’t have to look **that** surprised. _He thought to himself as he looked away guiltily and cleared his throat.

After a pause, Ruby spoke up “Why did Mom have me?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Tai, confused _I really hope you’re not asking for mechanics, I do not want to give ‘the talk’ a third time_

“I mean…” Ruby began, pausing with a focused look as she chose her words “Like, you two already had Yang, and she was working as huntress, right? So why would she want another kid?”

“Oh, well, uh… Actually, you were kind of a surprise” Tai said, rubbing his forehead, a nervous tic of his “Summer actually thought she wasn’t able to have kids.”

Ruby leaned in, enraptured “Why did she think that?” she asked, and Yang nodded her approval of the question, looking equally intrigued, even if she did still occasionally glance at her sister worriedly.

“Well I don’t know the details, but she said she got really sick as a kid.” Tai shrugged “I’ve heard of some diseases like that that can make you infertile, guess she caught one of those but got lucky.” He chuckled lightly “She completely freaked out when she found out she was pregnant, total panic, but she came around to the idea pretty quickly.”

“What was she like as a kid?” Asked Yang, a look of intense curiosity on her face “What about her family?”.

“I dunno, sorry.” He shrugged apologetically “We met at Beacon, and she barely talked about her life before then and avoided questions about it.” Ruby and Yang deflated sadly, Tai leaned forwards with a small, conspiratorial grin. “But I was curious too, so I figured some stuff out on my own. Want me to tell you?” The girls instantly perked up at that, nodding furiously.

Taiyang leaned back and began his account “So, her application to Beacon, don’t ask how I got ahold of that, said she was from Vacuo, which is definitely where she got that cloak she always wore, those’re a pretty common way to protect from the sun there, though she modified hers with extra ‘cookie pockets’.” Tai chuckled at that memory and paused to take a drink of water, he was surprised to find he was enjoying himself, the pain of loss stinging a lot less sharply as he fondly reminisced on the days he had spent investigating his mysterious teammate.

“The application also didn’t list any family or emergency contacts, and even _more_ interestingly, it said she didn’t go to a combat school, she was listed as ‘self-taught’. Whenever I asked about her family, she shut me down _fast_ , but she never seemed like she was mourning them, so my theory was that she ran away from them, or maybe they abandoned her.” Yang gasped audibly at that, and Tai winced slightly _shouldn’t have said that_ he thought _Now she’s probably thinking about Raven, which **neither** of us need to be doing_ he continued speaking hurriedly, hoping to distract her.

“On top of all that, she was always really socially awkward, and uncomfortable around crowds, but absolutely amazing at navigating in the wilderness, _especially_ when it came to dealing with grimm, whether it was tracking them, avoiding them, or just the strategies for fighting them.” Ruby’s eyes widened further as she leaned forwards, hands gripping the table with white knuckles _Heh, leave it to Ruby to be so excited about the part about slaying monsters_.

“I figured from those things that she probably spent a whole lot of time in the wilds, training by surviving and battling grimm. But man she could be clueless about some basic social things like knowing how to order at a restaurant, or how to dance” Tai chuckled at the memory of team STRQ’s first school dance, where Raven and Qrow had tried to teach Summer dance the only way they knew how, by jumping, thrashing, and loudly whooping and hollering; which had caused the rest of the school to stare angrily at the three idiots disrupting what was supposed to be a waltz.

“Once or twice I saw her writing letters, I snuck a peak and they were about classes, new friends, you know: the kinds of things you would tell a friend, but I think she must’ve been writing them more like a dairy or something, because they weren’t addressed to anyone, and I _know_ she didn’t mail them, cause’ I had to teach her how to send mail _after_ we graduated Beacon.” He frowned “I don’t think she had any friends before us, which is weird because she was really friendly, and she must have been around other people at _some_ point, she learned how to read and write somewhere.” Tai sat in silent thought for a moment before shrugging. “Anyway, that’s all the main stuff I could figure out about her life before Beacon, not much, I know, but she never seemed to want to think about the past, and preferred making plans for the future, so eventually I accepted that that was just how she was and stopped looking.”

Taiyang sat back and examined his daughters’ reactions: Yang seemed lost in thought, digesting the new information, however Ruby looked like she was still burning with curiosity. Tai sighed. “Go ahead, I can tell you want to ask something, Ruby.” He prompted her.

“Did Mom have a Semblance?” asked Ruby in a rush, Yang and Tai both looked at Ruby quizzically. _She must mean ‘what was her Semblance’_ thought Tai.

“Well, of course she did, she was a huntress.” Replied Taiyang, momentarily thrown off as Ruby somehow looked _surprised_ at his answer “She could detect people who were in danger, she’d use it to find the most vulnerable people during a battle or grimm attack and protect them.” Tai waited a moment for another question and when none came, he stood up and stretched

“Well I think that’s enough of that for today, I’ve got work to do.” Tai turned and walked out of the kitchen “Don’t forget your chores, girls!” he shouted over his shoulder as an afterthought. _Wow_ he thought with a relieved sigh _That conversation was draining, I hope I’m doing the right thing telling them all that, I don’t want them to dwell on Summer too much._

\-----

Ruby and Yang sat silently at the table. Ruby looked over to see that her sister seemed to be lost in some intense train of thought, not noticing Ruby’s gaze. _Well at least she’s not tripping over herself trying to cheer me up right now_ Ruby thought with relief _I swear, it’s like she thinks I’m going to melt down every time I hear the word ‘Mom’._

Ruby sighed quietly and thought about her dad’s answer to her final question. _Tyrian told me that Mom didn’t have a semblance because she was a grimm_ she thought _For a second, when Dad said she did have semblance, I thought maybe it was all a lie, that maybe Mom was still just a huntress and it was only me who was different_ Ruby frowned _But he said her semblance was detecting people in danger._ If Ruby had been told that a week ago, it would have just reinforced everything she thought she knew, that Mom was a hero, and that saving people was a part of her very soul.

 _But now I know that’s not really a semblance. It’s the same as I was doing with Tyrian yesterday_ Ruby thought darkly _It’s not a huntress detecting people who need help, it’s just a grimm being drawn to negativity._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of an unexciting chapter but the exposition had to go *somewhere*
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and stuff, this is the first fic I've posted online and I'm so pumped that people are enjoying it.


	5. The Letter

Ruby froze at the sight of the figure waiting in the clearing ahead. It had been three weeks since she had first met Tyrian, and in that time she had visited her mother’s grave four times, hoping to encounter the strange faunus again, but he had not been there, and Ruby had been beginning to wonder if he would ever appear to her again. But unless that was another person with a trench coat and a ponytail waiting at her mother’s grave, there he was, and Ruby would get another chance to learn about her mother and herself.

_I can do this_ Ruby thought as she took a deep breath to steady herself. I _got Dad to talk about Mom so I have something to compare what Tyrian says to. Plus, Crescent Rose is upgraded and I practised escaping a pin with Dad and Yang in case he attacks me like last time._ Ruby paused a moment more before tightly gripping her weapon, newly upgraded with a high-impact sniper rifle, and stepping forwards.

As Ruby cautiously stepped into the clearing Tyrian turned to face her, and his lips quirked up into a small smile “Ah so good to see you again, Little Rose. And back in your human guise no less, well done!” Tyrian greeted cheerfully

“Did you think I wouldn’t be able to turn back?” she asked worriedly, pausing in her approach.

“I was sure you’d learn _eventually_. But a week or so of hiding in the forest never hurt anyone.” He answered with a shrug, before his eyes lit up with curiosity “So?” he asked “How did you do it? How did you learn so quickly?”

“I dunno” Ruby shrugged “I just killed grimm for an hour and then I was fine.” 

“I suppose it would be easier for you” said Tyrian thoughtfully “given that you are part human.”

“It wasn’t easy for Mom?” asked Rub curiously, beginning to relax now that Tyrian seemed to have no intention of attacking her.

“Not at first, no. But it came with practice.” Tyrian appeared wistful for a moment, before meeting Ruby’s gaze with renewed focus “Which reminds me, I have much to teach you, we can’t waste the day on idle chat.”

“What do you want to teach me?” 

“Mostly practical things, your mother requested I help you learn to hide and control your… heritage, so that you are not uncovered.” Tyrian explained as he began to approach her.

“I don’t really care about that” Ruby said, clutching her weapon and watching Tyrian carefully “I’m just here to learn more about Mom.”

Tyrian giggled in response “Worry not, Little Rose! For today, we shall be able to do both at once.” He drew a worn piece of paper from within his jacket before continuing to explain “In order for you to take on your other form, you must meet two conditions, first, your aura must be broken or heavily suppressed, and second, you must experience strong negativity”

 _That explains how I changed last time_ thought Ruby _His semblance was tearing down my aura, and I was scared for my life_

“You will be able to do that on your own eventually” he continued explaining “But for now I will help you. I will use my semblance to lower your aura while you read this.” He held the piece of paper out to her.

Ruby took a step back “No, I don’t want to turn into-”

“This letter is your Mother’s last message to me, her last wishes.” Tyrian interrupted.

Ruby froze. She had intended to come and learn a little more about her mother, but she never wanted to turn into a grimm again. 

“Let me read that” she said, reaching out towards the paper, Tyrian danced a few steps away.

“Only if you let me use my semblance while you do~” he replied in a sing-song voice.

Ruby bit her lip, thinking hard for a few seconds before replying “My Mom really wrote that?” she asked.

Tyrian nodded excitedly

“And if I change… I can change back again, right?” she asked worriedly.

“Of course, probably faster, now that you’ve had practice.” he replied with a smile.

Ruby paused again before replying “Okay.”

Tyrian’s grin widened as he handed her the paper and then stood behind her, one hand resting on her shoulder. As Ruby began to examine the old, creased page a purple glow began to spread outwards from Tyrian’s hand, and she shuddered as her aura was forced down, leaving her behind a feeling of cold and vulnerability.

Ruby unfolded the paper revealing the short note within, written in a cramped and hurried, but familiar hand.

_Tyrian,_

_I know we haven’t spoken in a while, but you’re the only one I can come to for help._

_The Wizard knows what I am, he’s coming for me, and I can’t evade him for much longer, he has help and will catch up to me soon. My daughter, Ruby, is grimm, like me, but different, and if the Wizard catches me he might find out about Ruby and come after her next._

_I have a plan to protect Ruby, but if it works, I won’t survive._

_Please, Tyrian, if you meant it when you said I was your friend, please protect Ruby. She’s happy now with her dad and her sister, but someday she’ll eventually find out what she is, and I don’t know how she’ll take it._

_So I want you to explain it to her, and to help her learn to control it like you helped me. Also, she looks just like me, so she’ll need to know about the silver eyes and the Wizard to be safe._

_I want her to be able to live a normal life, but if the worst happens, and the Wizard finds out what she is, she’ll only be safe with Salem. I’ll need you to convince Her to take Ruby in if that happens._

_I’m sorry about everything that happened between us._

_I wish I had time to write more._

_Goodbye, Tyrian._

_-Summer Rose_

At some point Tyrian had taken his hand off of her shoulder. Ruby turned over the paper, now lit by a soft red glow, hoping there was more. There was nothing more, her hand tightened and one her talons pierced the page. 

_She cared_ was Ruby’s first thought. In some part of her mind, Ruby had always worried that her mother had simply gotten bored of them and run away.

 _She was murdered_ was her second thought. Not by the grimm like she’d always assumed, but by a _person_.

“Who is ‘the Wizard’?” Asked Ruby in a wavering voice, red steam rising from her eyes instead of tears. 

Tyrian scowled before answering “That is our name for our Goddess’s greatest foe. He is an immortal with strange powers who is reborn with a new name and face each time we slay him.”

“And he killed my Mom?” she asked

“He, or one of his followers, most likely.” he replied with a forcibly calm expression, but beneath the surface Ruby could sense Tyrian’s barely repressed rage and grief, and she could feel the same as well, boiling in her gut.

“Why?” She demanded.

“Because he is a vile coward who hates all of our Goddess's beautiful creations, and wants nothing more than to destroy each and every one of them them!” Tyrian snarled.

Tyrian paused and breathed deeply for a few moments, and as his negativity began to settle down Ruby calmed down slightly in turn.

“We’ve become distracted again” Tyrian said with forced calm “There is a lot I need to teach you still, and I’ve already wasted too much time in Patch, waiting to find time to speak with you.” 

Ruby nodded, taking a moment to steady her breath before speaking “If Mom wanted you to teach me, I’ll learn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back after a bunch of distractions and writer's block!
> 
> Sorry this chapter's a bit short.
> 
> Next chapter will start getting into what I think of as the meat of this story.


	6. Big and Bad

“If Mom wanted you to teach me, I’ll learn.” Ruby declared with an angry expression, though most expressions looked angry with glowing red eyes and needle-like teeth. Tyrian laughed lightly before replying.

“It’s good that you are eager.” he grinned “We will have to walk a ways for the training I have in mind, and I can answer some of your questions on the way.”

Ruby nodded in response, and made to hand the letter back to him.

“Keep it” he said, his grin faltering slightly as he waved it away “I don’t want it.”  _ After all  _ he thought  _ I’ve read it enough times to have memorized the shape of each letter by now. _

Ruby made an expression that could have been either gratitude or fear before beginning to fold up the old note, cautiously avoiding tearing it with her talons, before tucking it into her pocket.

Tyrian whirled around and began striding briskly towards the treeline “Keep up, Little Rose.” he shouted back “We don’t have all day.”

As Tyrian walked through the trees the sounds of Ruby’s light footsteps rapidly caught up behind him, where they then slowed as she cautiously followed a few paces behind him, Tyrian giggled softly at that and the two of them walked in silence for a few minutes.

“Well?” Tyrian spoke up after a while “You had so many questions before, now is the time to ask them?”

They walked silently for a few moments more before Ruby spoke up “What are ‘the silver eyes’ Mom wanted me to know about?”

“A rare and dangerous trait” He replied, with a grimace “Those humans and faunus born with silver eyes can, with the right training, destroy our Goddess's creations with a mere glance.”

“Wait, so literally silver colored eyes? Like me and Mom’s?” she asked, confusion obvious in her voice “But we  _ are  _ grimm, how does that work?”

Tyrian chuckled “When our Goddess granted your mother a human form, She gave her the appearance of the silver eyes, but she was not truly a member of that bloodline.” he glanced back at Ruby “Lucky for you, you are probably the same, as the silver eyes would likely destroy you.”

Ruby looked confused “But why make Mom look like she had the silver eyes? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Tyrian paused for a moment before replying “For her… mission, she would need to convince certain people that she was a silver-eyed warrior. Of course, she didn’t actually have those powers, but with careful planning and some help, she was able to fake it.” 

“How would she ‘fake’ having magic, grimm-destroying eyes?” asked Ruby incredulously.

“With judicious application of her own... special traits, some carefully researched lies, and a well-timed distraction from yours truly.” Tyrian giggled at the memory before slowing to a stop.

“We’ve arrived.” he said excitedly, turning to Ruby. She looked around at the forest, which was identical to the rest of the forest they had been walking through.

“We are?” She asked, her meek and confused voice clashing with her frankly terrifying appearance sending Tyrian into another brief fit of giggling. 

“Well, you have a little longer to walk, but beyond here it is not safe for me.” Tyrian leaned back against a tree as he began to explain. “There are a few instincts common to all grimm, and if you want your true nature to remain a secret, you will need practice resisting them.” Ruby nodded, focused on his explanation

“Obviously, there is the grimm’s attraction to negativity, but the training for that will take more preparation than I have time for. But another, less… widely known, facet of the grimm is their obedience to older and stronger grimm, to alphas and ancient grimm.”

“Wait” Ruby interjected “Does that mean grimm can talk to each other?”

Tyrian shrugged “I don’t think so, your mother tried to explain it to me once, but she couldn’t find the words.”

“So did Mom have to do this same training?” asked Ruby, her eyes glowing slightly brighter with excitement.

Tyrian chuckled and shook his head “When your mother was granted a human form, she was already an ancient and powerful grimm, so she didn’t need this training, as would almost never encounter any grimm with the authority to command her.” Ruby looked down and frowned, disappointed “Ah, look at me, you’ve made me wander off topic again.” he tutted and wagged a finger at Ruby admonishingly.

“As I was saying,” Tyrian continued “if you intend to continue training as a huntress, you will eventually face grimm older than the juveniles common in this forest, and it would be most suspicious if you suddenly found yourself unable to fight them.” 

Ruby frowned in confusion and raised her hand, Tyrian stared at the clawed appendage for a moment before bursting into raucous laughter. Ruby’s confused frown only deepened as Tyrian, still laughing, stepped forwards, put his hand over her own raised one and gently lowered it.

“Little Rose” he began after his laughter had died down “I am not a teacher and this is not a school, do not raise your hand.”

“I just didn’t wanna interrupt” she muttered petulantly, Tyrian stifled another giggling fit before she asked her question “How do you know I’ll even have this ‘instinct’ you’re talking about? I’m only half grimm.”

“True, and even if you do have it, it might be weaker than normal, especially if you are in your human form.” Tyrian shrugged “If you don’t have it, this training will be a waste of time, but at least we’ll know for sure.”

He swept his arm dramatically to point deeper into the forest “A little ways over there, is a shallow ravine. I’ve discovered that it is the lair of an older grimm and its pack, not very old, just around a hundred years I think, but good enough for you to start with.”

Ruby leaned away slightly “Start with what?” she asked fearfully

“Worry not, Little Rose.” Tyrian giggled “In your current form, the grimm should not harm you, you only need to go up to the old grimm until you can feel it’s influence and get used to it, maybe poke it a few times, then leave.”

Ruby stared worriedly in the direction Tyrian had pointed “Good luck” he said, grin widening “I’ll be waiting here.”

\-----

Ruby walked between the trees, red eyes scanning nervously for the ravine Tyrian had told her about. Her hand hovered a few inches above her weapon, despite the fact that she could barely wield it with her unfamiliar hands. It was the middle of the day, but to Ruby the forest had begun to feel bigger and darker.

_ This is crazy  _ she thought  _ I’m walking right into the lair of one of the biggest meanest monsters on purpose! Dad would ground me forever if he found out and I wouldn’t even blame him.  _ Her face fell  _ or maybe he’d just kill me because he’s a huntsman and I’m a grimm  _ she thought darkly.

_ No!  _ She thought, angrily shaking her head to dispel the previous train of thought  _ Dad would never hurt me, no matter what, if anything, if he found out he’d probably be the most hurt, he’d shut down again like when Mom died, and Yang would end up trying to take care of everyone alone again.  _ She stopped walking and frowned at that thought, even though it was long enough ago that she didn’t remember perfectly, she remembered that those weren’t good times. 

_ I’m not letting anything like that happen ever again  _ she thought fiercely  _ So I’ll learn everything Mom wanted Tyrian to teach me, I’ll learn how to hide what I am, what Mom was, and I’ll use everything I learn to be the greatest huntress ever, and everything will be fine!  _ She hummed happily at her conclusion and resumed walking forwards with renewed energy.

A few moments later, she saw the first beowulf laying on the forest floor a short distance away. It raised its head briefly to look at her, and then rested its head on its fore-paws again, watching her idly. Ruby tensed automatically when she noticed the creature, but quickly relaxed when she realized she was in no danger.  _ I’ve never seen one laying down before  _ she thought curiously  _ I didn’t even think they needed rest.  _

__ As Ruby continued walking she quickly saw more and more of the creatures, all them the beowulfs common to patch, all obviously young, as they little to no bone plating, and all of them appeared to be resting, either laying down or walking slowly and tiredly as they searched for a place to rest.  _ I must be getting close, Tyrian said the old grimm had a pack  _ she thought, some of her earlier worry returning. As she moved forwards the beowulfs became more and more numerous, and although she tried to keep her distance, she was forced to pass close to a few of them, although they did nothing more than sniff curiously at her clothes.

Soon, Ruby came to the edge of a ravine, just as Tyrian described. It was a shallow ravine, no more than a couple of meters at its deepest, and in the middle of it was nestled the largest grimm Ruby had ever seen. She gasped audibly. She thought for a moment that it was beowulf, but the shape was all wrong, it was closer to an actual wolf, long, sleek, and quadrupedal, it appeared to be sleeping with its head tucked beneath its tail. It moved. It unfurled itself, revealing an incredibly ornate mask covering it’s head as the only ornamentation on its otherwise pitch-black, nearly five-meter long body.

It looked at her. Though the crimson glow of its eyes was barely bright enough to be seen on its own mask, Ruby felt as if she was standing in a spotlight, rooted to the ground. It growled briefly, a short, deep sound containing nothing resembling words but layered with  _ intention  _ and  _ meaning  _ that Ruby understood as clearly as her own thoughts.

_ You, come.  _ it growled, and before Ruby could wonder how she understood she had already scrambled into the ravine and stood before the enormous beast. Standing at its full height the wolf towered above her, and had to lean down to sniff at her.

_ Two-Leg. Small. Prey-Smell? Strange.  _ It huffed. Ruby was frozen, even though it had not made any commands it’s not-words  _ demanded  _ her attention, echoing through her mind and driving every other thought out. It sniffed at her for a few more minutes before sitting down on its hind legs, seemingly satisfied.

_ You young, small  _ it howled quietly,  _ Pack large. You stay. _

__ “Bwuh?” replied Ruby eloquently.

_ You stay.  _ It growled firmly,  _ We wait.  _ The wolf grimm laid down, shifting to get comfortable, Ruby, in a daze, sat down as well.

Ruby simply stared, hypnotized, at the glowing eyes of the giant grimm as it settled in to rest, until it finally tucked its head beneath its bushy tail. Ruby continued staring dazedly for minutes before her own thoughts began to flow sluggishly into her mind again.

_ I... guess I have to stay here now  _ she thought slowly  _ I hope Tyrian isn’t mad that I can’t meet up with him like I said I would.  _ Ruby finally tore her eyes away from the giant grimm to gaze about the forest. It was a shaded area, with nothing visible other than the trees and a few resting grimm. 

_ This place is boring  _ thought Ruby with a frown,  _ I wish I didn’t have to stay here. _

Ruby removed Crescent Rose from her back and idly toyed with it for a moment before stopping  _ I probably shouldn’t open this up around the grimm, they could get mad _ she hugged the weapon to her chest and looked around at the surroundings again  _ Ugh, this place is the worst! I wish I could leave  _ she thought, laying down with a huff. 

Ruby stared up at the foliage and, with nothing else to do, began to reminisce.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'm writing kind of short chapters now, but I like how they're turning out, hope you're liking them too!
> 
> Next chapter should be done relatively soon since its something I've been wanting to write for a while now and I already have it started.
> 
> Formatting is all wrong again and idk how to fix it, hopefully it isn't too noticeable.


	7. Reminiscing

\--7 Years Ago--

When the knock came, Ruby and Yang, in unison yelled “Mom!” and bolted for the door. Yang, recently turned eight years old, made it to the door first, and her five-and-a-half year old sister arrived as she was opening it. 

“Uncle Qrow!” yelled Ruby breathlessly, smiling like her birthday had come early. Sure, they were still waiting for Mom to get back from her hunt, but they hadn’t seen uncle Qrow in months, and he was always fun!

Qrow seemed shocked to see his nieces for a moment, before he quickly smiled a strained smile and kneeled to envelope the two in a tight hug. “Sorry girls.” he began “I can’t stay, I have to get back to work, but I stopped by to uh… talk… with everyone.”

“Oh, Qrow” Said Taiyang, walking up behind his daughters “I didn’t know you were coming, what’s up?” Tai asked cheerfully as Qrow released the girls from his tight hug and stood slowly.

“I uh…” Qrow began uncertainly “I have to…” he paused to swallow and started again “I have to tell all of you…” he trailed off as he looked down at his nieces “I can’t do this” he shook his head “Tai, can we talk out here? Stay inside, kids.”

Taiyang frowned but stepped outside “We’ll just be a second, girls” he smiled at his daughters “Alright, what’s this about?” he said seriously, turning to Qrow as he shut the door.

Immediately after the door shut Yang smiled mischievously and dashed to the door, pressing her ear up against it. “Yang, no!” exclaimed Ruby “We’ll get in trouble!”

Yang didn’t respond.

“Yang?” said Ruby, tugging at her sister’s shirt worriedly. Yang didn’t react, her eyes were wide, and she wasn’t smiling anymore.

Ruby cautiously stepped up to the door and pressed her ear up against it, mirroring her big sister. She could barely hear through the thick wooden door, but could still make out a few scraps of her speech from her Dad and Uncle Qrow.

“... happen?” that voice was probably her Dad’s, though she’d never heard him so quiet before.

“...don’t know ... won’t tell me anything, but … answers, one way or another” That voice was definitely Qrow’s, he was speaking a lot more loudly and clearly. 

“Are you …... stay?” Said Taiyang, his voice quiet and questioning. There was a pause before Qrow spoke again.

“... is involved somehow, and there’s … time, ... have to … right now … what she knows” there was a pause, and the sound of fabric brushing against fabric before Qrow continued speaking “ … back when … promise … okay, Tai?”

There was no sound beyond the door for nearly a minute, other than a crow’s _caw_ , and Ruby stepped away, confused by the fractured conversation she had overhead and Yang’s still-shocked expression.

Ruby stood in place awkwardly as Yang finally moved away from the door, still silent and staring wide-eyed at nothing, and leaned against a nearby wall.

A few moments later the door opened and, on the other side of it, Taiyang took in a shocked breath, as if he had not expected to see his daughters there. Ruby looked up at him, worried, though Yang only stared at the ground. Taiyang’s eyes were wide, and his face pale, he stood completely still for a few moments.

 _Dad’s face looks like Yang’s_ thought Ruby.

“Ruby, Yang…” began Taiyang, his voice croaking slightly “Something happened… ”

\---

When Taiyang finished explaining, Ruby said only “But Mom can’t die, she’s a hero.” in a quiet, confused voice. 

Yang didn’t say anything. Ruby heard her crying that night, but didn’t understand why. 

\---

The next day, Taiyang stayed locked in his room, and only came out to make meals, barely speaking or making eye contact as he did. Ruby didn’t understand why. 

That night, Yang tried explaining it to Ruby again, but she didn’t want to listen.

\---

The first time Taiyang forgot to come out to make a meal, Yang tried to cook instead, it didn’t turn out very well. 

Yang’s cooking was a lot better by the fourth time.

\---

Yang started reading through papers she had taken from the attic, it seemed slow and frustrating, but occasionally she would find something and gasp. Later, she found an address in a broken picture frame. 

The next morning, she told Ruby that she needed to take a walk, and that Ruby could ride in the wagon if she came with her. It was a long walk, Ruby fell asleep in the wagon.

\---

Ruby woke up when Yang grabbed her, she was confused at first, Yang looked scared and tired, she was grabbing onto Ruby with all the strength she had and pulling Ruby’s head to her chest, blocking Ruby’s vision. Ruby heard something growling, or were they saying something? It was hard for her to tell what they were saying, but whatever it was, it sounded mean.

Then Yang gasped, there was a mechanical sound, and then the growling not-voices turned into yelps for a second before they stopped. Yang fell back and sat on the ground, breathing heavily. Ruby looked around, they were in a place she had never seen before, they were in a dark part of the forest with lots of thick bushes, on a little dirt path, barely visible through the weeds.

Ruby turned around to where Yang had been looking to see an old, broken down house, and in front of that house was her uncle Qrow! Ruby smiled at seeing him, he had his weapon out and held in both hands, and a little silver canteen on his belt Ruby hadn’t seen before. There were some black shapes on the ground by his feet, quickly getting smaller as black smoke rose out of them. His expression was serious and his head was turning rapidly as he quickly took in the surrounding area, when he finished looking around his gaze snapped to Ruby and Yang and his expression softened a little.

“Are you two okay?” He said rapidly as he rushed to them, collapsing his scythe and kneeling in front of them as he came “I just got back and Tai told me he couldn’t find you. I was so worried, I’m so glad you’re okay.” He rapidly patted down both of them, checking them for wounds before pulling them both into a hug, picking them up, and carrying them towards home.

Yang was so exhausted she fell asleep on Qrow’s shoulder almost immediately. After Qrow had been walking rapidly down the path for a while he said quietly “I’m sorry, girls, I should have stayed with you and Tai. I just…” he paused for a moment “I just wasn’t thinking straight after I heard Summer was gone.” 

Ruby perked up at that “Do you know where she went?” she asked

“Huh?” replied Qrow, confused

“You should go get her.” continued Ruby “She’s been gone way longer than normal.”

Qrow didn’t say anything after that.

\-----

When they got back home, Qrow tried to make them both some food, but he wasn’t a very good cook, Yang stopped him and told him how to do it right, Qrow seemed unhappy about that for some reason. _Uncle Qrow’s probably just embarrassed he can’t cook as good as Yang_ thought Ruby as she started eating.

While Ruby and Yang were still eating, their dad got home, he was out of breath and immediately dashed into the kitchen to hug both of them, Qrow watched that with a smile, but after Taiyang was done hugging them Qrow grabbed him firmly by the arm and led him outside. Yang and Ruby heard Qrow shouting at their dad, though they couldn’t hear the words, followed by some loud crashes.

Ruby and Yang were starting to get worried when they finished their food and their dad and uncle weren’t back yet. But when Qrow and Taiyang came back inside they seemed fine, although their dad’s aura was glowing and sparking just a little. Taiyang sat down across from them. 

“Qrow has um… Made me realize” He started with a sad smile “That I haven’t been... paying enough attention to you, lately.” he looked awkwardly down at his lap “And I guess the first part of that is that I didn’t… help you understand things, Ruby.” He took a deep breath “So, we can start with that.”

\---

Taiyang, with Qrow’s help, explained everything that they knew, it wasn’t much. Summer had gone on some important secret mission somewhere in the Kingdom of Mistral, while on that mission she had died, though no-one seemed to know how, and someone had confirmed her death, though Qrow and Taiyang didn’t know how it was confirmed, or even by who. 

Overall, it was an unsatisfying explanation, but it was all they had. Yang’s expression was conflicted and confused, while Taiyang appeared a little sad, but mostly guilty, and Qrow’s face was tired and defeated. Ruby wore a desperate and frustrated frown, she had listened to the explanation and understood it, but she refused to accept it. 

All through the rest of the day she wore that frown until that night when Yang talked to her in their room. Ruby accepted it, and finally cried.

\--The Present--

_I have to get back to them_ thought Ruby, she climbed to her feet, a few nearby grimm eyeing her curiously as she did. Hours had passed since the wolf grimm had commanded Ruby to stay, and while she still found herself incapable of moving from the spot, she finally found herself mentally aware enough to _wish_ that she could.

Ruby bared her teeth into a snarl, adjusted her weapon on her back, and lowered herself into a crouch, body tensing in an attempt to move. _I will get out of here_ she thought fiercely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this definitely the saddest and most melodramatic thing I've even written. A bit of an intermission chapter.  
> It was probably a bit much, but this chapter is one I'd been thinking of for a while and has a few important things for the story overall.
> 
> Yang's story in the show about Summer's death always really stuck with me, so I couldn't help but make it important in this story.
> 
> I have bunch of work coming up but I think I'll have time to get out the next chapter pretty soon.


	8. Two Struggles

_ I can do this _ thought Ruby, straining to move  _ I was able to start wanting to leave by thinking about Dad and Yang, so I just need to stop thinking about what the grimm told me to do, and focus on why I need to get back home.  _ Ruby gritted her teeth, a weird sensation considering how long and sharp they were in this form, and continued trying to pull herself away from the enormous creature resting nearby. She pictured Yang and her dad, she pictured the home they shared and her room in it, with it’s messy workbench covered in tools. She imagined her dream of becoming a huntress, and her feet began to move.

_ Yes!  _ She cheered internally as she began to pick up speed, her uncertain walk turning into a jog as she shook the last remnants of the grimm’s control from her mind.

_ Stop  _ the grimm grumbled firmly from behind her.  _ You stay _ it commanded, Ruby was already frozen. Ruby shook her head and snarled, fighting against the haze descending over her mind.

“No!” she yelled, stamping her foot and whirling about to face her captor, it was still laying down, watching her curiously. Ruby shook with rage,  _ I was so close!  _ She was able to think clearly at least, but found herself unable to move again. “ _ Let me go! _ ” she screamed at the wolf in frustration. The wolf stood abruptly.

_ You command?  _ It not-said with a confused whine  _ No. Too young. I command. _ It finished with an amused bark. 

_ It understood me?  _ Thought Ruby, shocked.  _ Maybe I can convince it.  _ She concentrated for a moment, pouring all of her emotions into her words before speaking in an attempt to replicate her previous success.

“ _ I can’t stay! _ ” She shouted up at the towering monster “ _ I have to go home! _ ” it went still for a moment.

_ Home…  _ it growled thoughtfully, Ruby gasped. The wolf was not communicating in words, but in concepts, in  _ intention, meaning,  _ and  _ understanding.  _ And apparently, Ruby had been communicating in the same way, because when it sent the idea of  _ Home _ , it carried images of  _ her  _ home, of Dad and Yang and everything they meant to her, things the grimm now knew because she had  _ told  _ it.

_ Yes, Home. Prey-Place  _ The grimm growled excitedly  _ You go Home  _ it ordered. Ruby was taken aback, it was letting her leave? Ruby had no problem with following that order, so she spun around and immediately began striding in the rough direction of her home.

Then, the grim raised up its head and howled  _ Pack! We Follow!  _ It broadcast  _ We Hunt! _

As Ruby helplessly continued to walk forward, expression horrified, all around her grimm were rising to their feet, snarling and barking with excitement, before falling behind her, and following her home.

\-----

“ _ Please _ ” Ruby begged the massive grimm walking next to her, red steam rising from her eyes “ _ Just go back, I’ll even stay this time, just don’t hurt them! _ ”

_ No  _ it barked, unperturbed  _ We hunt. _

__ “ _ But why!? _ ” she yelled, face distraught “ _ You wanted to just stay in place before, why ‘hunt’ now _ ?!”

_ Found prey  _ it replied with an excited growl  _ Only two, alone, weak. _

“ _ They’re not weak! _ ” she yelled, desperately trying to find any way to keep the monster away from her family “ _ Dad’s a huntsman, he kills grimm all the time, and Yang can fight too, you’ll lose! _ ” The beast slowed down for a moment at those words, and Ruby dared to hope. She had already tried attacking the lesser beowulfs to thin their numbers, and had managed to kill one with her claws before the old grimm had simply growled ‘ _ Stop _ ’, and that had been the end of that.

_ Just go back  _ she thought desperately  _ Just go back to your ravine and sleep again, and I’ll get away eventually. _

__ _ No.  _ it growled firmly  _ Pack large. Pack strong. We hunt. _

__ Ruby’s spirit fell, she was out of ideas. She’d meant it when she’d told the grimm that it would lose, sure there were more than forty grimm following behind her, but they were mostly young beowulfs, barely a threat to anyone with aura and some decent training, the only possible threat was the giant wolf grimm, but had Taiyang once told her a story of him wrestling a giant deathstalker into a cage, Ruby wasn’t very worried for her family.

What really worried Ruby was herself, she still looked like a grimm! Despite her best efforts, she was still walking straight to her home, and if she walked right up to the front door with her hood and her weapon Dad and Yang might recognize her, and figure everything out, or worse, they might  _ not  _ recognize her, and kill her with the rest of the grimm. 

Ruby looked around desperately for some kind of solution, the forest was getting more and more familiar, she didn’t have much time left. She briefly considered changing back to her normal form, but dismissed the thought as there was still a horde of grimm around her, and even though she’d changed back once before, she wasn’t totally clear on how she had done it.

She caught a glimpse of the wooden walls of her house through the trees and began to panic. Apparently, the giant grimm had seen her house as well, as it lifted up its head and howled.  _ Pack!  _ It ordered  _ Charge! _ . 

Ruby unwillingly broke into a sprint, the grimm behind her did the same, barking and howling with bloodlust.

Between the trees, Ruby glimpsed a familiar pair of blonde heads, and heard the sound of Yang yelling out an excited battle-cry. Ruby made a desperate decision. Mid-sprint, she reached behind her back, drew Crescent Rose, and, after a few failed attempts due to her claws, managed to put her finger onto the trigger.

Then, Ruby shot herself in the leg.

Her cry of pain was drowned out by the sounds of the grimm as she collapsed to the ground. The grimm horde thundered past Ruby’s fallen form, ignoring her and rushing towards her house. The sounds of Ember Celica firing soon rang out.

_ Ow, ow, OW!  _ thought Ruby, rolling on the ground and clutching her wounded leg in agony  _ At least I don’t feel the grimm’s commands anymore, that’s good to know!  _ Ruby accidentally rolled onto a rock, ramming it directly into her wounded leg, she grit her teeth in pain to avoid crying out.  _ Okay, this is fine,  _ she thought  _ While Dad and Yang beat these guys, I’ll crawl away and find a way to transform so that my aura can start healing this. _

A howl rang out through the forest  _ Pack!  _ It broadcasted  _ Attack large prey and distract! Small prey is stronger when hurt! _

Ruby froze  _ I said their names _ she realized with horror  _ It knows all about them now, it has a  _ **_plan_ ** _ to fight them _ . Terror flooded through her body, far stronger than the pain in her leg. Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose, deployed it and, using it as a staff, propped herself up far enough to see the battle ahead of her.

Taiyang was being swarmed by the grimm, he was steadily punching and kicking his way out, managing to avoid major wounds in an incredible display of dodging skill. On the outside of the group surrounding her father Yang was being ignored, and taking full advantage of that by wildly throwing dust-powered punches into the grimm around the edges of the group swarming her father. Ruby relaxed momentarily, they were fine, the grimm’s plan wasn’t going to work.

Then Ruby saw the giant grimm, it wasn’t attacking, it had circled around the fight and, before Ruby could cry out, it had pounced on Yang from behind, pinning her to the ground. As Ruby watched in shock, the grimm pinned one of Yang’s arms with its mouth, and stepped down on the back of her neck  _ Choking doesn’t power her semblance  _ she realized  _ I found that out in one of our spars.  _ She looked desperately towards her father, but he hadn’t seen, he was still steadily punching his way through the grimm, but he wouldn’t be fast enough.

_ It doesn’t matter if they see me _ thought Ruby as she began desperately limping towards her sister  _ Nothing else matters, I have to save Yang! _

As Ruby approached the treeline, Yang’s struggles were already becoming feebler.

\-----

Tyrian grabbed Ruby by the shoulder and threw her to the ground. “Stay hidden!” He barked at her, before shooting past the treeline and planting his boot directly onto the neck of the old grimm, knocking it off of the blonde-haired child it had pinned to the ground.

_ This is foolish  _ thought Tyrian as he deployed his blades, wearing an expression of deep annoyance  _ Here I am, showing my face after my Goddess went to so much trouble faking my death because of that ‘serial killer’ incident _

The grimm recovered quickly, it bristled and growled, staring at Tyrian  _ Furthermore, I’m currently fighting such a beautiful and old one of Her creations.  _ Tyrian fired a salvo from his guns at the grimm’s face to distract it as he charged  _ She would surely be so cross with me if she knew.  _

Tyrian slashed for its neck, cutting a long, red gouge, but before his blade could sever anything vital the grimm hopped backwards with surprising agility and then charged forwards again, snapping its enormous jaws angrily, forcing the faunus to leap back out of range. Tyrian skidded to stop a few feet from the young blonde child, she had just struggled to her feet and was coughing painfully but forced a cocky grin to her face when Tyrian glanced at her.

“Th-Thanks for the help, stranger” she said, her voice croaking slightly as she massaged her neck “I totally coulda taken him, though.” she smiled weakly.

Tyrian scoffed at the display of bravado before dashing back towards the large grimm  _ And I’m doing all this just to protect the Little Rose’s secret,  _ Tyrian feinted for the grimm’s throat again, before ducking under its retaliatory strike and sliding between its legs.  _ I could have let her save her own sister, not shown my face to a huntsman, and just let things go as they will.  _ Tyrian slid to a halt beneath the beast and slashed up viciously into its belly, black guts rained down on his face and quickly began evaporating.  _ But instead, I’m here, killing a sacred creature just because a dead woman I hadn’t seen in years sent me a letter. _

As the grimm howled in pain, Tyrian shoved one of his weapons deep into its gut and fired, unloading the remainder of his magazine directly into its vital organs. As the old grimm began to evaporate, Tyrian wore a small smile.  _ Well, at least I can still enjoy the simple things. _ Tyrian glanced around the clearing surrounding the Xiao-Long household, it was a nice enough place, he mused, nicer now that the last of the remaining grimm were being cleared out..

“Thanks for the help!” Yelled Taiyang upon finishing off the last beowulf, blissfully unaware that his daughter had nearly been strangled to death. “You a huntsman?”

Tyrian grimaced  _ and there goes my good mood  _ “Yes” lied Tyrian tersely, looking away from the blonde huntsman to reload his weapons while surreptitiously checking his appearance. Tyrian had buttoned his coat closed as soon as he’d seen Ruby begin moving to save her sister, and he was relieved to see that it had not come loose during his fight and was still hiding his distinctive chest scars. In addition, Tyrian had his tail wrapped snugly around his midsection, it was uncomfortable, but Tyrian knew from careful practise that it would be unnoticable.

Taiyang moved to his daughter and exchanged a few quick words with her, Tyrian ignored him and retracted his weapons, glancing around the area. Tyrian spotted a bit of white mask and a pair of red eyes peeking out from the underbrush, he shot Ruby a quick, angry glare and mouthed “hide” before looking back to the two blondes to make sure they hadn’t seen.

Taiyang had finished speaking to his daughter and was approaching Tyrian with a friendly smile “Well it’s always nice to meet another huntsman.” he stopped in front of Tyrian and outstretched a hand to shake “Taiyang Xiao-Long, at your service” Tyrian’s stared at the hand for a moment

_ You stole her from us  _ he thought spitefully. Some of his thoughts must have shown on his face, as Taiyang quickly withdrew his hand.

“Okaaaay.” Taiyang said uncertainly and laughed awkwardly “Not a touchy person then, that’s fine, thanks for the help either way.” 

Tyrian nodded, not trusting himself to speak  _ I’m really not made for subtlety and deception, I should leave before I say something I shouldn’t.  _ He thought to himself before speaking “I’m heading back that way” he gestured roughly in the direction the pack of grimm had come from “I need to check for any stragglers.” 

Taiyang’s face lit up, he seemed about to offer his assistance when, much to Tyrian’s relief, Yang interrupted. “What about Ruby?” she said, voice slightly panicked “She went to visit Mom and train, right? What if she ran into that horde?”

Taiyang considered his daughter’s words and glanced around for a moment before looking at her and replying “Nah, I don’t think we need to worry, the direction they came from isn’t where Ruby usually hunts, and even if she did run into them, they were nothing too dangerous for her.”

“The big one was pretty dangerous.” Muttered Yang, Taiyang laughed, apparently he had no idea about his daughter’s close call.

“That was just a fenris.” said Taiyang, and Tyrian stifled an offended gasp at his dismissive tone “They’re quick for their size and smarter than average, but nothing special, Ruby’s fine.” However, as he said those words, a ghost of concern flitted over his expression “Though… She has been gone for a while” he said uncertainly “We may as well go find her.” He turned back to Tyrian.

“Sorry we can’t stay and chat, we have to go looking for my other daughter.” He said apologetically “She wears a red hood and wields a scythe, while you’re out there could you…?”

“If I see her, I’ll send her home.” Interrupted Tyrian, turning his back and striding towards the woods.

“Thanks, a bunch!” He called out cheerily before speaking to his daughter “Come on, Yang, let’s hurry.”

As the two rushed into the forest, thankfully not anywhere near to where Ruby was hiding, Tyrian overheard Yang mutter to her father “Why was that guy so rude?” Tyrian didn’t hear the father’s reply, but he heard Yang laugh a few moments later, so he assumed it was a joke. Tyrian waited for the sounds of the two to fade away, and then waited a few minutes longer to be sure they were gone before sighing with a mixture of relief and exasperation.  _ I really did not enjoy that. _

“Alright” he said loudly “You may as well come out now, Little Rose.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say about this chapter, hoped you liked it.
> 
> All comments/reviews/theories are appreciated, I'll love reading ya'll's thoughts on the story. <3


	9. A More Comfortable Talk

Ruby stood up unsteadily, supporting herself against a nearby tree. Though the expression on her masked face was still unreadable, Tyrian noted the obvious pain in her stance as well as great deal of relief in the way she hung her head.

“Well we can’t talk here, your family could come back any moment.” Said Tyrian, gesturing in the direction her family had left in.

Ruby shook her head in reply “If they’re going to look for me around Mom’s grave they’ll be gone for over an hour, we have time.” Ruby shifted her wounded leg and made an expression that was likely a wince. “Also, I, uh, I don’t think I can walk.” she looked around for a moment before speaking again “Wanna come inside maybe?” she meekly offered.

Tyrian, despite his previous irritation, chuckled slightly at the offer before offering a nod and a tired grin in response. Ruby seemed cheered by his acceptance and extended her weapon, making to use it as a crutch, but when Tyrian saw how slowly she was hobbling towards the house he rolled his eyes, strode forwards, and half-helped half-carried Ruby to the door.

“Worry not, Little Rose.” he said along the way “Grimm heal quickly, not as fast as a huntsman who knows how to concentrate their aura properly, but still, quickly.”

As Tyrian entered the house and helped Ruby to limp to a couch he looked around at the inside of quaint, comfortable seeming house _Seems like such a boring place_ he thought dismissively _Was this really how she wanted to live?_

After helping Ruby to a seat he stood up, brushed off his hands and looked sternly down at her, she was currently fussing over the wounded leg, most likely worried about the black smoke wafting from the bullethole. 

“So.” he began with a huff “Care to explain what on Remnant you were doing?”

She looked up, confused “I was going to save Yang?” she tried, Tyrian barked a quick laugh.

“No. Before that” he said with a roll of his eyes “Why did you walk home with a grimm horde following you? Did they escape your notice? Or perhaps I’m missing something, maybe you wanted those two dead?”

“No!” Ruby shouted, shocked “It was the big grimm! I told it about my house by accident, and then it made me lead them here, and I was trying and trying to stop but I just couldn’t so I tried to convince it but I accidentally-”

“Stop” interrupted Tyrian with a raised hand, Ruby’s speech had been getting faster and faster and Tyrian had no interest in trying to parse meaning from her torrent of garbled speech. “So,” he continued “It commanded you. Were you even trying to disobey?”

“Of course I was trying!” she replied in a rush “But it was hard! I could resist a little bit and it was getting easier by the end, but every time I tried to do something else it just ordered me back.”

Tyrian pondered that reply for a moment, expression puzzled “That doesn’t make any sense” he thought aloud “Your mother told me that when she commanded grimm even newly spawned grimm could disobey when given any reason to do so. Maybe it's because you’re part human? And that makes you even more susceptible somehow” He looked at Ruby, considering her. It was still difficult to read her face, but she seemed worried. “You said it was getting easier to resist as time went on?” he asked.

Ruby nodded desperately in response, Tyrian shrugged. “I guess you’ll just have to train harder, I can probably find another grimm old enough to practise on, and I’ll just need to keep a closer eye on you next time.”

Ruby sighed and nodded gratefully, Tyrian stared at the wall for a moment, considering how he would go about this new plan, when Ruby began fidgeting, Tyrian’s eyes slid to her and he smirked before speaking.

“I can tell you want to say something” he said with chuckle “Speak up, Little Rose.”

“Um” she began. uncertainly, staring at her lap. She paused for a moment before finally speaking “Thank you for saving Yang.” she said quietly.

Tyrian barked out a laugh “I didn’t save your sister, Little Rose.” he replied “I saved _you_ , as you were about to reveal your secret.”

“Oh.” She said uncertainly, before looking up to meet Tyrian’s gaze and continuing to speak “Well thanks for that too, a-and thanks for training me to deal with all of this” she motioned to her clawed hands and masked face before continuing “And also, thank you for telling me so much about Mom.” She shook her head to reorganize her thoughts “What I’m trying to say is, thank you, Tyrian, you’re a nice person”

Tyrian froze for a moment, eyes wide, before bursting into uncontrollable laughter “You-” he tried to speak but failed, doubling over as his body was wracked with tremors of laughter. He waited a moment for his giggles to die down before finally facing Ruby with an amused expression “A good person. That’s the first time _that’s_ been said about me.” he replied with a final giggle “Did you forget that I serve the goddess of all grimm? I am hardly what most would call nice”

Ruby paused with a conflicted expression before slowly shrugging “Well, you’re nice to _me_.” she replied quietly.

Tyrian chuckled quietly “Well I suppose that’s a refreshingly simple way to look at it.” Tyrian glanced nervously towards the window “You’re sure they won’t come back soon?” he asked, Ruby nodded in response.

Tyrian stroked his chin in thought for a moment before speaking “We’ll need you to heal enough to walk before we can try to change you back, so I suppose we’ll be waiting here for the time being.” Tyrian glanced about the room, looking for a place to sit, he immediately dismissed the couch and the armchair next to it, any seat with a back would be far too uncomfortable given his tail, and eventually decided on sitting down on a small coffee table.

“So, it seems we have some spare time, you may as well ask some of the questions you always have” he suggested casually, half in an attempt to pass the time, and half to distract Ruby from her gradually healing gunshot wound. Ruby perked up instantly _Always so eager to ask about your mother_ thought Tyrian amusedly.

“Well I have wanted to know, uh…” she began slowly “ _Why_ was mom turned into a human? Why did she become a huntress? It… doesn’t make sense to me.”

Tyrian paused a moment to consider the question _that was quite a while ago, so I suppose I can tell her the general idea and avoid any important secrets of our Goddess._

“Do you remember what I told you about the Wizard? The immortal who opposes our Goddess and often changes his identity?”

Ruby nodded, her eyes glowing slightly brighter for a second as she touched the pocket where she had placed her mother’s letter “He’s the one who killed her, right?” she said in a voice so low it sounded almost like a growl.

Tyrian nodded “It seems likely, given what she wrote in her letter.” Tyrian paused a moment, thinking sadly of the days he had spent looking for any clue of her final fate and finding nothing. Then, Tyrian noticed that Ruby had begun to tense up, and quickly dispelled that train of thought.

 _I need to get into the habit of suppressing negative thoughts around her_ he mused as Ruby looked around confusedly, as if she had just woken up from a dream _She doesn’t react quite as… violently, to negativity, as her mother first did_ he absentmindedly rubbed at the scars on his chest _But she still gets distracted by it, so I’ll need to keep my thoughts in check until she’s learned to endure it._

“Anyway.” He said with a brief chuckle “You were asking about her mission, yes?” Ruby nodded in response; attention rapt.

“The Wizard is a constant annoyance to our Goddess, and with his tendency to change faces every so often, finding him is the first step to fighting against him. However, finding him is made difficult by the fact that he so rarely fights for himself, preferring to recruit others to his cause and send them in his place.” Tyrian grimaced with annoyance at that _How I wish we could meet in battle, Wizard, so I might carve my vengeance into your flesh._ He thought briefly

“However,” continued Tyrian “While we still could not find his identity, we did notice that most of his agents were in some way associated with Beacon academy, usually former students or employees of that school.” Ruby perked up slightly at the mention of Beacon, understanding beginning to dawn in her eyes

“So, our Goddess gave one of Her oldest grimm the form of a young girl, and assigned some her loyal servants, myself included, to help her learn to blend in among humans. Then, when she had learned how to act well enough, she applied to Beacon Academy to train as a huntress, but her true goal was to draw out the Wizard.” Tyrian couldn’t help but grin at his Goddess’s clever plan “Your mother’s silver eyes and even her name, ‘Summer’, were both bait to catch the Wizard’s attention, and when he inevitably attempted to recruit her she was to accept, she would work for him and gain his trust, but all the while she would subtly sabotage his plans and feed information back to our Goddess, including the Wizard’s identity, and eventually, when the perfect moment came, she would betray the Wizard and bring his plans falling down around him.”

Tyrian momentarily tittered with joy at the thought before turning to look at Ruby and concluding his explanation. “And that, Little Rose, is the entirety of your mother’s mission. Any questions?”

Ruby seemed lost in thought for a moment before finally speaking up “You said… Her name was bait? How would being called “Summer Rose” get this ‘Wizard’s’ attention?”

“’Summer’ is a name he likes, or so I was told.” Tyrian lied

 _oops_ he thought guiltily _The maidens are something she probably shouldn’t know of_

“While ‘Summer’ was the name our Goddess gave her, she came up with ‘Rose’ on her own.” Continued Tyrian in an attempt to distract Ruby from his blunder “She needed a last name for her application to Beacon, and she told me later the she chose ‘Rose’ because she remembered once getting tangled in a rosebush as a young grimm.”

Ruby and Tyrian both giggled at the image for a moment before Ruby spoke up with another question “What kind of grimm was she?”

Tyrian paused to think for a moment before replying “I don’t know” he replied “When she transformed, she looked a lot like you do.” He clarified, gesturing to Ruby’s blackened form “But even that form was somewhat unfamiliar to her at first, so I have no idea what she was originally, only that she was ancient and strong, and mostly lived in the deserts around vacuo.”

Ruby nodded slowly, digesting the information before asking another question. “So, your plan for Mom to work for the Wizard and then tell you who he was and betray him.” She began, changing the subject “Did the plan work?”

Tyrian’s fist clenched.

He carefully bit back his anger before it could begin to distract Ruby.

“No.” he answered coldly.

Ruby waited for him to elaborate, but after a few seconds of silence, she spoke up “Why not?” she asked cautiously.

Tyrian took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking “The wizard took notice of her and recruited her, all as planned” he said, quietly at first, but voice gradually rising “But when she finally knew his identity, she decided she didn’t _want_ to tell us. That her friend, and even her _Goddess_ , meant absolutely _nothing_ to her!” he finished with a snarl.

As Tyrian breathed heavily, carefully controlling his anger after his brief outburst, Ruby spoke up. “She betrayed Salem” she said, wide-eyed “She betrayed Salem and joined the Wizard to fight against her!” exclaimed Ruby. Tyrian snorted.

“Hah, not quite, Little Rose.” He replied with a chuckle, his anger lessened “She betrayed the Wizard as well.”

Tyrian looked at Ruby to see her head tilted in confusion and elaborated. “She refused to obey our Godess, yes, but she was not foolish enough to fight against Her. Your mother kept to one part of the Plan, at least, she gave false reports to the Wizard, leading him on a useless crusade against hapless criminals who appeared to serve our Goddess, all while Her _real_ agents went undisturbed in the very same city.”

Tyrian then grimaced “But at the same time, she was _blackmailing_ us.” He said angrily “She threatened to leak _real_ secrets, _dangerous_ secrets, to the Wizard if we ever came anywhere near her or her precious ‘team” finished Tyrian, practically spitting out the word ‘Team’.

Ruby was frozen, mulling over everything she learned for nearly a minute before she finally nodded and spoke quietly “Mom wasn’t the hero like everyone thinks, if she was, she would have really tried to fight Salem.” Tyrian bristled at those words but allowed her to continue her thought. “But instead she just betrayed everyone.”

“But I think I get it.” She continued. “What she really wanted was just to be with her friends.”

\-----

_Her friends_ thought Ruby _That’s what she really cared about, Dad, uncle Qrow, and Raven too, I guess. Mom was willing to lie to everyone and go against the goddess of the grimm and an immortal just so that she could be a huntress with her friends._

Ruby sighed deeply, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her. Up until a few weeks ago, Summer Rose had been Ruby’s hero, Ruby’s blueprint to being a good person, but all of that had been shaken to the core when she had learned that her mother had secretly been a grimm. But now, she knew her mother was a person who would risk everything to be with her loved ones, and that Ruby was one of those loved ones, that her mother had sent that final letter to protect her. Summer Rose wasn’t the paragon of goodness Ruby had once seen her as, but she wasn’t a monster either, she was a person with flaws, but they were flaws that Ruby felt she was beginning to understand and even relate to.

“Thank you, Tyrian.” She said, looking gratefully at the odd faunus seated on the coffee table. “You told me what I really needed to know.”

Tyrian’s expression was complicated, and as the pause before he spoke stretched on Ruby felt the pull of what she was beginning to realize was negativity from him. But the pull ended before it could become overwhelming as Tyrian snorted derisively.

“I’ve told you useless trivia and ancient history, Little Rose.” He said condescendingly “What you _need_ to know right now is how to look human before your family returns.”

Ruby looked down at her pitch-black, clawed hands, she had completely forgotten about that with all the other revelations about her mother. _I don’t know if I like how easily I’m getting used to this body_ she thought nervously.

Tyrian flicked Ruby in the leg, startling her from her internal monologue “And as it appears you are healed enough that you should be able walk, we can get to work on changing you back.” He continued, his face then widened into a mad grin “And as long a we’re at it, I think I have a _wonderful_ idea for killing two birds with one stone.” He said, voice sinister.

“What’s your idea?” asked Ruby, leaning away nervously.

“Well you mentioned that you changed back by fighting grimm last time, right?” asked Tyrian, Ruby nodded in response and he chuckled. “Well as long you need to fight…” he said, trailing off as a _click_ sounded and his weapons emerged from his sleeves “I may as well make sure you know how to use those claws of yours properly.”

Ruby gulped, nervously remembering the last time she had seen those weapons bared.

“Oh don’t worry, Little Rose” Tutted Tyrian, his face a comically exaggerated mask of concern “This is just training after all, I won’t be _too_ cruel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope ya'll like this chapter. Probably the last super exposition-heavy one for a while.
> 
> I swear the document I write this in is very nicely formatted, but apparently that just doesn't carry over to this site. Drives me crazy.


End file.
